Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging

Tom Felke serves as the Executive Director of the Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging as well as the Associate Dean for Academics in the Marieb College of Health & Human Services at Florida Gulf Coast University.  He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary and Special Education from Providence College followed by advanced training and research assistantships at both New York University and Yale University.  He completed his formal graduate education at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, having earned a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree with concentrations in administration, policy, and international issues as well as a Ph.D. focused on research in Armenia with ethnic Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.  Dr. Felke's professional career includes positions with Catholic Charities of Southern Connecticut, the Connecticut Department of Social Services, the Connecticut Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services, and Southern Connecticut State University.  Dr. Felke completed a needs assessment of older adults in Collier County in 2014, which went on to garner national recognition from media outlets including the PBS Newshour, CNN Money, and the Kaiser Health Network.  Since that time, he has been actively engaged in work to support older adults across Southwest Florida through various research, advocacy, and consulting efforts.  He is active as a member of several boards and committees in Southwest Florida as well as for national social work organizations.

Mona Afifi is a distinguished academic and researcher specializing in construction engineering. She has served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, teaching a wide variety of courses. Afifi’s research focuses on aging-friendly design, Building Information Modeling (BIM), lean construction, and AI in construction management, earning her significant grants, including the Ignite Grant and the NSF Engines Development Award. She is a published author and an active member of several professional organizations, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to the fields of construction engineering and aging studies. Afifi completed her PhD at the University of Alberta, where she also earned her MSc in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Brigitte Belanger earned her doctorate of science in occupational therapy (DSc) from Baylor University in 2011 while on active duty at the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC). She also holds a Master's of Health Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Florida as well as a Master's of Arts in Bilingual & Bicultural Education from the University of Texas in San Antonio. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Arts in Translation from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Dr. Belanger joined the FGCU faculty in 2016 and initiated research to draw awareness to veterans' issues in higher education. She founded the Veterans Support Committee in 2016 and continues to work on advocacy issues. Dr. Belanger is certified in Animal Assisted Therapy and has created courses to help train therapists in the use of animals for therapy.

David Hage serves as Assistant Professor of Social Work and an Affiliate Faculty member of the Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging at Florida Gulf Coast University. He teaches within the BSW and MSW programs and the medical case management certificate. He is a gerontologist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the states of Florida and Pennsylvania. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), a Jewish Healthcare Foundation Feinstein Death & Dying Fellow, a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW), a Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM), a Certified Advanced Aging Life Care Professional™, and a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP).

Prior to beginning his employment at Florida Gulf Coast University, Dr. Hage was a fulltime faculty member & Director of Field Education at Misericordia University’s Social Work program based in Northeastern Pennsylvania. There he served as Gerontology Minor Coordinator, Geriatric Care Management Certificate Director, and as the Faculty Liaison for the university’s Institute on Aging. Dr. Hage has taught undergraduate through doctoral level courses in Geriatric Care Management, Gerontology, Health Care Management, Health Science, Occupational Therapy, Patient Navigation, Psychology, Social Work, & Sociology.

Dr. Hage's applied practice experience includes work with economically disadvantaged children and families in low-income housing, a maternity home with pregnant women experiencing homelessness, at a rural community action offering vocational assistance programs, an acute care inpatient rehabilitation hospital, sub-acute skilled nursing facility, and outpatient care environments primarily with an adult through geriatric population. Dr. Hage has experience in inpatient hospital and outpatient case management, consulting, counseling, geriatric care management practice and social service, healthcare, and academic leadership. Dr. Hage has previously served as the Chair of the PA Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (PA-NASW) statewide Aging Committee, as a member of the Geisinger Behavioral Healthcare Center Community Advisory Council, as a board member and trainer for the Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and as a member of the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital Palliative Care and Biomedical Ethics Committees.

Hanah Harley is an artist, educator, and curator, previously based in western Pennsylvania. Harley received a Master of Fine Arts in Photography and Related Media from Parsons, an executive certificate in Arts and Culture Strategy from University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor in Fine Arts in Photography from Point Park University. Harley is currently a doctoral student at St. Francis University, where she studies Organizational Leadership and Innovation. Harley is represented by the Fox Clark Gallery in Indiana, PA.  Harley is also a community arts organizer involved in administering and facilitating a variety of organizations, grants, and programs. She was the Director of Development and Curator at Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, and the Public Art Consultant at Stuart Group Consulting, overseeing public art projects in Pennsylvania. Harley has been an educator for the last six years, working as an adjunct instructor at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA and Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Community-based learning is at the center of her work, building programs designed to create meaningful connections through the arts.

Dr. Ashley Mandeville is an Assistant Professor of Management in the Department of Management in the Lutgert College of Business of Florida Gulf Coast University. Primary teaching responsibilities include Leadership and various Human Resource Management courses.

Dr. Mandeville has earned her PhD in Management at University of Alabama and bachelor’s in human resource management at University of Houston. Her teaching philosophy includes a focus on student engagement and experiential learning. Her aim is to provide a classroom that includes meaningful discussion and continuous feedback.

Dr. Mandeville is also active in research and has published in prestigious management journals, such as Personnel Psychology and Journal of Applied Psychology, on subjects related to the work-family interface, pregnancy in organizations, and benefit utilization. She has also co-authored a recent book chapter on gender and the work-family interface in the modern workscape. Further, she is an active member of various professional organizations, including Academy of Management (AOM), Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), and Work and Family Researchers’ Network (WFRN).

Krystal D. Mize is an Assistant Professor at Florida Gulf Coast University where she teaches undergraduate courses in developmental and evolutionary psychology. Her past research has spanned the lifespan—from womb to tomb. Dr. Mize has publications on intimate partner homicide, infant and child emotional development, and touch and mindfulness interventions. Dr. Mize's current research interests involve emotions and social relationship with specific consideration of the role of evolution in the development of the social brain.

Jaley A. Montgomery, MM, MT-BC, began her clinical experience in private practice to serve children and adults with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities in Southwest Indiana. Following that time, she was a music therapist at an autism center in Southeast Missouri. While working at the autism center she earned her master’s degree in music therapy through CSU. Her thesis pertained to the effects of music therapy on joint attention and sibling relationships with autistic children. Montgomery served as an internship supervisor at the autism center, and during this time realized her passion to teach music therapy students. Following this passion, she became a clinical assistant professor of music therapy and clinical practicum coordinator at a university in Southern Indiana. In 2021, Montgomery moved to Fort Collins, CO to pursue a PhD in music therapy. At CSU Montgomery was a Graduate Teaching Assistant who taught music therapy classes each semester and supervised practicum students in a variety of settings. Her research investigates utilizing supports in music therapy for neurodivergent individuals. She is delighted to return to the classroom and teach the next generation of music therapists at FGCU and to work with the Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging.

Dr. Sinclair holds a B.S. Psychology from Florida State University as well as both a M.s. in Psychology and Ph.D. in Psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology.  Her specialties are in cognitive psychology and developmental psychology with her foundational training being in topics related to metamemory, metacognition, source memory, source monitoring, and age-related decline and sparing of cognitive and metacognitive functions. She has taught a number of courses including research methods, statistics for the behavioral sciences, cognitive psychology, history and systems of psychology, general psychology, lifespan development, sensation and perception, and elderly development.

Dr. Templeton holds a B.S. in Kinesiology and Exercise Science from Temple University (2005). She graduated with her Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) in 2008 from Arcadia University. She then went on and received her American Physical Therapy Geriatric certification specialist. Dr. Templeton specializes in pelvic health.